If Hillary Clinton uses Thursday's foreign policy speech in California to make the case for rebuilding the military and backs it up with a plan to pay for the boost, she could start the conversation to court Republican national security experts who have sworn off Donald Trump, according to one analyst.
Bryan McGrath, a defense consultant, said Clinton must also disassociate herself with President Obama's foreign policy, which Republicans have largely seen as ineffective, to have a chance at getting the support of the national security experts who have said theywill not support Trump.
"If she puts that in the rear view mirror, I think she can begin to have a real dialogue with disaffected Republican national security people," said McGrath, who helped coordinate an open letter signed by 121 conservative national security experts in March promising to fight the nomination of Donald Trump.
McGrath said there are no magic words Clinton could say in her speech that could lure Republican "Never Trump"-ers to her side, but that the foreign policy speech is a chance to showcase her views on where America stands in the world, which she's largely neglected so far in the domestic-focused primary race with Bernie Sanders.
"That has not been something she talked about much on the campaign trail because she's dealing with a neoisolationalist socialist. On the GOP side, you have this neoisolationist Donald Trump," McGrath said. "She could be the only person left standing who actually believes the United States has a special purpose in the world. If she begins to talk about that tomorrow, I think it's a sign she feels Sanders is in the rear view mirror."
Get the Exclusive
12.27.2024